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Devotional for August 9, 2017: “Biblical Belief”

“For in the same way God loved the world that He gave His only unique Son, that everyone who believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

You may have noticed that my translation of what is probably the most well-known verse in the Bible is a little different than the common translations. My translation is actually the correct one. Jesus isn’t talking about the quality or the depth of God’s love. He’s talking about how God went about displaying His love, and it is in direct connection with what He has just said in verses 14-15. I’d invite you to see how the preceding verses connect with what Jesus says in verse 16 and on.

But that’s not the topic of today’s devotional; it’s about belief and what biblical belief is.

Biblical belief changes one’s perspective.

Biblical belief changes how one sees things. It changes how one views the world and people. Biblical belief changes how you think. If your beliefs do not change your perspective, then they aren’t truly beliefs. They are nothing more than propositional truths that you know in your head.

Biblical belief changes one’s actions.

One’s actions reveal what one truly believes. That’s the foundation of biblical belief. The statement, “And you shall know them by their fruit,” is true for what one truly believes. What a person truly believes is upon what a person acts. If you don’t believe a chair will hold your weight, you won’t sit in it. Whether or not you are willing to sit in that chair reveals what you truly believe about that chair. It’s the same way with what we believe about God.

Do you believe that God will provide as He promised? Then you will be generous with money when He calls you to give. If you aren’t, then you don’t truly believe He will provide, because biblical belief is belief upon which we act.

So, what do you say you truly believe? What do your actions say you truly believe? And do they match?